PORTLAND, Ore. – Freshman Demetri Goodson streaked the length of the court and made a short, running bank shot with 0.9 seconds left, lifting fourth-seeded Gonzaga over Western Kentucky 83-81 Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Gonzaga (28-5) advanced to the South Region semifinals to play top-seeded North Carolina on Friday in Memphis, Tenn. The Tar Heels defeated LSU 84-70.

Steffphon Pettigrew hit a tip-in for the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers (25-9) that tied it at 81 with 7.2 seconds left. But Goodson took the inbounds pass and went straight to the basket with little resistance, hitting from close in on the left side.

Western Kentucky, which made a surprise run to the regional semifinals last year, was led by Orlando Mendez-Valdez with 25 points.

This was the 11th straight victory for the Zags, who won the West Coast Conference regular-season title and tournament. The Hilltoppers won the Sun Belt Conference.

Josh Heytvelt’s layup with 7:34 left made it 67-64, and he made a bank shot and free throw that put Gonzaga ahead 81-72 with 2:14 left.

But Orlando Mendez-Valdez hit a 3-pointer to make it 81-77 with 1:30 to go. After a Zags turnover, Mendez-Valdez hit Pettigrew for a breakaway dunk with 58.7 seconds left that made it 81-79. Pettigrew’s tip-in tied it.

Mendez-Valdez had 25 points, including seven 3-pointers, for the Hilltoppers, who had won eight straight going into the game. A.J. Slaughter had 24.

The Zags have made the round of 16 five times in the past 11 years – this is their first trip there since 2006. They burst onto the national scene in 1999 as scrappy mid-major underdogs who reached the final eight.

Last season, Western Kentucky upset its way into the regional semifinals. As the 12th seed, the Hilltoppers first defeated Drake 101-99 on Ty Rogers’ 30-foot buzzer-beater, then beat San Diego 72-63 before falling 88-78 to UCLA.